Mom's Pride Tangles with Objections to War

Summary

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SAN DIEGO -- I don't need to read between the lines here on my computer screen in the MSN Messenger dialogue box. The meaning of my son's Instant Message is clear. He's worried. Worried he might not pass the test that would mean his promotion from specialist to sergeant.

It was only three years ago, after high school, that Roman signed on for a four-year stint in the Army. Not long after boot camp, he was sent to Iraq with the 1st Armored Division. At the beginning of that deployment, I'd addressed letters and packages to "Pvt. Diaz." By the end of his 15 months there, that title had changed to "Spc."

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Mom's Pride Tangles with Objections to War

"Just do your best," I tap out on my keyboard. "And you'll do fine." A motherly mantra as familiar to him as "eat your vegetables" and "pick up your socks."

But he doesn't see it as that simple. And he tells me wh...

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